Transportable sawmill



April 27, 1965 E. FINDER 3,180,377

TRANSPORTABLE SAWMILL Filed March 6, 1963 a Sheets-Sheet 1 rNvEigpk WawgPATENT AGE N'T April 27, 1965 E. PINDER 3,180,377

TRANSPORTABLE SAWMILL Filed March 6, .1965 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 PATENT AGENTApril 27, 1965 E. FINDER 3,180,377

TRANSPORTABLE SAWMILL Filed March 6, less a sheets-sheet s M BYM C? MPATFZ NT AGFT NT April 27, 1965 E. PlNDER 3,180,377

TRANSPORTABLE SAWMILL Filed March 6, 1963 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 INV7EW'OR073/ MM #AIENT AGENT April 27, 1965 E. FINDER TRANSPORTABLE SAWMILL 8Sheets-Sheet 5 mww g JQN EN 6%.

Filed March 6, 1963 BATFNjL AGENT April 27, 1965 E. PINDER TRANSPORTABLESAWMILL 8 Sheets Sheet 6 Filed March 6, 1963 PATENT AGENT April 27, 1965D R 3,180,377

TRANSPORTABLE SAWMILL Filed March 6, 1963 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 a IwTOR @MUw 3% Eda.

PATENT AGENT April 27, 1965 E. FINDER TRANSPORTABLE SAWMILL 8Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed March 6, 1963 United States Patent 0 3,18%,3'l7TRANSRURTABLE SA Vii/ELL Edison Finder, 29 Grandview Ave, Sault Ste.Marie, Ontario, Canada Mar. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 263,239 4 Claims. (Ql.143-417) This invention relates to sawmills and is particularly adaptedto transportable sawmills.

In the past sawmills have been for the most part permanent and costlyinstallations erected initially as close as possible to the source oftimber. A particular type of conventional sawmill may comprise acircular saw and a log carriage mounted for back and forth longitudinalmovement at one side of the saw. The carriage is provided with some formof clamping means to secure a log thereto. in the operation of thesawmill, the log carriage is first moved back to a loading position, alog is moved into place on the carriage and clamped to it, the carriageis adjusted transversely to bring the log into line with the saw, andthe carriage is advanced longitudinally carrying the log past the sawwhere a board or cant is cut off the log. The carriage is then returnedand adjusted transversely for the next cut.

In this type of sawmill the log is secured to the carriage at two orthree points along its length with the remainder being unrestrained. Asonly one board or cant is removed from the outside of the log on thefirst pass of the carriage past the saw, the log has a tendency to pullaway from the saw where it is not secured to the carriage. Normally thelog is not secured to the carriage at the ends, and the ends pull awayfrom the saw. When the .ext cut is made, the board or cant which is cutoff may be trdnner on the ends. The board may have to be trimmed at theends or be down graded. This represents waste and lowered production. itis apparent that this waste could be reduced by increasing the number ofpoints at which the log is secured to the carriage. However, it is notconvenient to have to secure a log at a number of places and requires amore complex carriage. These are disadvantages in this type of mill. Afurther disadvantage is that the clamping means normally engages a sideof the log which often causes the edges of the slabs or cents to bemarred. Such marring represents waste. Another disadvantage in this typeof sawmill is in the length of time necessary to position a log andsecure it to the log carriage.

The present invention provides a novel design of saw mill whichovercomes disadvantages of prior sawmills and which is particularlyadaptable to transportable sawmills.

It is frequently not economically feasible to out and haul timber to apermanent sawmill installation when the source of timber is remote orwhen the timer is small in size. However, the use of a transportablesawmill often makes it feasible to use such timber. In addition, atransportable sawmill may be required to salvage timber quickly from aburned over area.

Attempts have been made to provide suitable transportable sawmills.Those prior art transportable sa mills were frequently scaled downversions of the permanent sawmills and suffered from the samedisadvantages. In addition, they were often dificult to set up and notwell adapted for transporting from one location to another.

It is an object of this invention to overcome disadvantages of priorsawmills and provide a sawmill of novel design which operates moreefficiently.

It is another object of the invention to provide in a sawmill a sawingapparatus of novel design which does not cause a sideways bending of thelog during sawing.

.It is another object of the invention to provide in a Eddihdl? PatentedApr. 27, 1 .965

sawmill a log centering apparatus of novel design which aligns andpositions a log for sawing quickly and accurately.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide in a sawmill a logcarriage of novel design which avoids the possibility of marking with aclamping or securing means the edges of the slabs or cants or" wood outfrom the log.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a transportablesawmill of a design which permits it to be easily moved, quickly set upand efficiently operated.

These and other objects of the invention will appear more fully in thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which FIGURE 1 is a side view of a transportable sawmill inaccordance with the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a top view showing the twin saw blades and associated parts,

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the apparatus of FIGURE FIGURE 4 is an endview taken along line 44 of FIGURE 3,

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the blade spacing settingmechanism,

FIGURE 6 is a side view of an overhead log carriage in accordance withthe invention,

FEGURE 7 is a top view of the log carriage of FIG- URE 6,

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along line 88 of FIGURE 7,

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIGURE 7,

FIGURE 10 is a side view of a log aligning apparatus in accordance withthe invention,

FIGURE 11 is an end view of the log aligning apparatus of FIGURE 10, and

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged sectional view of the bearing and support forthe longitudinal shafts of the log aligning apparatus.

Briefly, the present invention uses two similar and separately mountedsaws for the cuttin or sawing operation. The log is moved lengthwise,i.e., in a longitudinal direction, between the saws so that a slab orcant is cut off each side of the log at the same time. The saws areadjusted transversely towards one another by the same amount betweensuccessive passes of the log. The log cannot bend away from the saw asit might if only one saw were used, and of course, two cuts are madewith a single pass of the log instead of one cut as would be the case ifa single saw were used.

It may be pointed out that it is known to use a plurality of saw bladeson a common shaft for various wood cutting operations such as edging.However the blades are not normally adjustable transversely and by equalamounts between successive cuts. Known prior art arrangements would notbe suitable for use in this inven- 'tion.

The present invention uses a log carriage which is mounted for movementin a longitudinal direction, i. e., for horizontal movement in alongitudinal direction parallel to the saw blades, and which has a pairof dogs mounted thereto in longitudinal spaced apart relationship. Thedogs are movable to a first retracted position and to a second positionprojecting from the carriage to engage opposite ends of a log. As thecarriage moves longitudinally with the dogs in their second position,the dogs pass centrally or medially between the blades.

Normally, after slabs or cants have been cut from a log, the ends andedges are trimmed oil to provide rough lumber. With the presentinvention, the dogs engage the central portion of the end of the log andany marking of the wood slab engaged by the dogs is usually cut oil"when "3 i C9 the ends are trimmed. If the marks are deep the amount ofend trimming can be increased with little waste. However, if the markingis in the edge or side as with prior clamping means, removal of themarks requires the cutting of a striprunning the entire length. Thewaste therefore tends to be greater when the clamping marks are on theside rather than the ends.

In order that a log may be positioned quickly and.

aligned with a medial vertical plane extending between the saws in thesawing area, the invention includes a log centering apparatus. A logreceiving platform is positioned at the input end of the sawing area andsubstantially aligned longitudinally with the sawing area, and a firstand a second pair of log kicker arms are mounted below the platform andspaced longitudinally from one another with the arms in the first pairand the arms in the second pair being equidistant from the medial plane.

Each pair of arms has a first retracted position lying below the surfaceof the platform, a second log centering position projecting upwards pastthe surface of the platform, on either side of said plane, and a logcarrying sweep from the first position to the second position.

In a sawmill in accordance with the present invention, a log can beplaced on the logreceiving platform and correctly centered while thefinal pass or cut is being made on the previous log. It is not necessaryto wait for the return of the log carriage to position the log. Thus thesawing can continue with lesswaste of time between the sawing ofsuccessive logs.

The structures described herein for sawing and centering logs areparticularly adapted for use in transportable sawrnills. The use of twinsaws with an overhead log carriage engaging the ends of the log permitsthe use of.a relatively light carriage and decreases'the width requiredfor saw and carriage. That 'is, when the prior art single saw was usedwith a carriage mounted for movement at the side, the width necessarywas large enough that it was difficult to incorporate subsidiaryapparatus such as edgers and trimmers mounted beside the saw'andcarriage on a transportable frame. The overhead carriage decreases thewidth necessary for the main saw and the subsidiary apparatus can bemounted beside the main saw.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a side view of a transportablesawmill in accordance with the invention. The main frame 10 has a pairof forward Wheels 11 and a pair of rear wheels 12. mounted thereto formovably supporting the sawmill. A tongue 14 is provided at the endofmain frame 10 for attachment to a tractor or the like for transportingthe sawmill from one place to another. Wardly from the main frame 10 anda top frame 16 is fastened to them and suitably braced. Fourhydraulically extensible feet are provided, one at each corner of themain frame It for quickly levelling the frame at a new location. Onlyone hydraulic cylinder 17 is shown in FIGURE 1. The extended position ofthe foot 18 is indicated in phantom. When the foot 13 is extended therequired amount by means of hydraulic pressure in cylinder 17, then theposition of the foot is locked by clamping means 20 and the hydraulicpressure may be removed.

' A power source or power plant such as an internal combustion engine 21is mounted to main frame Hi at one end. The engine 21 provides the powerfor the apparatus in the sawmill. It drives the main saws and thevarious conveyor means, it drives a hydraulic pump which provides asource of hydraulic fluid underpressure for operating the levelling feetand various drives for other apparatus, and it may also drive anelectric generator to provide electric power for energizing still othersubsidiary apparatus such as edger saws and trim saws.

v A sheave 22 on the drive shaft of engine 21 is connected by a belt 23to a sheave on a power take off shaft 24. A belt 25 engages anothersheave on shaft 24 and Upright members 15 extend up-.

a sheave on shaft 26. The shaft 26 provides the power for the two mainsaws. Only one saw is visible in FIG- URE l and the blade is designated27, driven by belt 29 and is mounted by a saw mandrel 28 to a mandrelsupport 35). The mandrelsupport 34 is movable transversely on the frameat on a track comprising rails 31 and 32 in response to rotation ofcontrol handle 33. The other main saw is similar and is similarlymounted. The two main saws and associated parts will bedescribedsubsequently in more detail in connection with FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 5. I

A longitudinally extending track 35 is mounted below top frame 16 fromupright members 15. A log carriage 34 is mounted to track 35 for backand forth movement,

therealong. A chain 36 is supported in a loop by sprockets 37 and 3S andis fastened to carriage 34. A sheave 4t is fastened to sprocket 37 forrotation therewith and is connected by a belt 41 to a reversiblehydraulic motor 42 so that when motor 42 is energized it drives chain asand causes longitudinal movement of carriage 34. The motor 42 isenergized by hydraulic fluid through lines 46 and 47 from a hydraulicpump (not shown) driven from power output shaft 24.

The carriage 34 is provided with a pair of dogs 43 and 44 pivotallymounted thereto in longitudinally spaced apart relation. The dogs aremovable to a first retracted position where they are pivoted upwards toa roughly horizontal position and to a second position projectingdownwards (as shown in FIGURE 1) to engage the ends of a log 4-5. Thelogcarriage is described in more dotail hereinafter in connection withFIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9. When the dogs are in engagement with the log andthe saw is positioned, the carriage 34 is moved forwards carrying thelogpast the saw in cutting relationship. The dogs in the log engagingposition thus define a path extending longitudinally between the blades,that is they define by their path of movement a medial vertical plane.

As a slab or cant is cut from log 45, it falls onto a series of spiralrollers 43. The rollers 48 are interconnected by a series of belts 5tand are driven by belts 51 and 52 from power take off shaft 24. A slabor cant falling onto the rollers 48 is moved away from the saw 27 untilit strikes bumper 53. The spiral rollers 48 in conjunction with bumper53 cause the wood slab to move transversely to fall from rollers 43 ontoa moving conveyor (not shown) to move it to an edging or trimmingapparatus, or to a required location in a well known manner.

The log should be aligned or centered quickly in a position where it canbe engaged by dogs 43 and 44 for movement with carriage 3 A logcentering apparatus is provided which comprises a log receiving platform55 supported on upright members 56. The platform 55 is substantiallyaligned longitudinally with the actual sawing area, that is the areaWhere the sawing takes place. Mounted below the surface of platform 55are two parallel longitudinally extending spaced shafts. Only one ofthese shafts is seen in FIGURE 1 and is designated 57. i

The shafts are rotatably mounted in members 58 and are interconnected bygears 60 so that they rotate in oppo site directions. Log kicker arms 61and 62 are fastened to opposite ends of shaft 57, and similar arms (notseen in the view of FIGURE 1) are fastened to opposite ends of the otherone of the parallel shafts. A hydraulic cylinder 63 is connected toframe 10 and has a movable piston connected by rod 64 to an arm on shaft57. When the cylinder 63 is energized it causes rotation of shaft 57 inone direction and of the other shaft in the opposite direction. Thisresults in a'form 'of scissor-like opening and closing of the logkickers. Each pair of arms has a first retracted position lying belowthe surface of platform 55, a second log centering position projectingupwards past the surface of the platform on either side of a medialplane extending centrally through the sawing area, and

ensues? Kt a log carrying sweep from the first to the second positionwhere a log placed on the platform is carried to the center of theplatform and aligned in the medial plane for engagement by dogs 43 and44. A further description is given subsequently in connection withFIGURES 10, ll and 12.

Referring now to FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 5, there is shown the transversetrack comprising a fiat rail 31 and an inverted V rail 32 both mountedto frame it). A pair of mandrel supports 3% and 39a are mounted formovement along rails 31 and 32. A pair of rotatable axles 6'1 and 63 aremounted to the mandrel support 3% and fiat wheels 7% and '71 are mountedrespectively to these axles for riding on rail 31. A pair of formedwheels 72 and 73 are mounted to axles 67 and 68 respectively for ridingon rail 32. The wheels 72 and 73 on rail 32 restrict the movement of themandrel support 34 to a straight transverse movement. Also mounted toaxles 67 and 63 are flat wheels 74 and 75. The wheels 74 and 75 rideinside on enclosed rail 76, i.e., a rail in the shape of a U on itsside. This prevents tipping movement of mandrel support 3% duringsawing. Thus the wheels '74 and '75 with rail 76 retain the support 343in position above rails 31 and 32 and permit only transverse movement.

A mandrel 28 is mounted to the top of mandrel support 3%) for rotatablysupporting a saw blade 27. A sheave 77 is provided for driving the sawand is connected by a multiple belt 29 to a sheave 78 on shaft 25. Theshaft is splined and the sheave 78 is adapted to be carried by thesplined shaft 26 so that sheave 7'3 may move along shaft 26 to alignitself with the position of sheave 77. This permits of a transversemovement of mandrel support 38 carrying the saw blade 27 and withoutintefering with the drive to the saw.

Positioned beside the mandrel support 3% is another mandrel support a.The mandrel support 39a is mounted to rails 31, 32 and 76 in the samemanner as is support 39. The general structure of the mandrel supportSilo with its associated mandrel, saw and driving sheave is similar tosupport 3% with its associated parts as can be seen in the drawings. Itis believed that further description of support 38a is thereforeunnecessary. Where reference is made to parts on mandrel support 39asimilar to parts described in connection with support 36, they will begiven a like designation number followed by an a.

The mandrel supports 39 and 39a are thus capable of movement alongtransverse rails 31 and 32. A manual chain and sprocket drive isprovided to position these mandrel supports with respective blades 27and 27a in a required position. mounted to frame Ill and rotatablysupport a shaft 82. In like manner brackets 85 and 84 rotatably supportshaft 85. Sprockets 86 and 87 on shafts 82 and 85 carry chain 88 in theform of a loop. An elbow 99 connects the upper horizontal part of chain88 to mandrel su port 3t and an elbow 91 connects the lower horizontalpart of chain 88 to mandrel support 36a. It will be seen that movementof chain 88 causes movement of mandrel supports 39 and 39a towards oneanother or away from one another, and thus the saw blades 27 and 27a maybe positioned towards and away from one another, mways being equidistantfrom a medial vertical plane. A handle 33 on an arm 92 fixed to shaft 82is provided to move chain 88 and position the saw blades.

It may be desirable to have an index to enable an operator to adjust theposition of blades 27 and 27a in discrete steps. This is done as shownin FIGURES 3 and 4 and particularly 5. An index disc 93 having a seriesof s aced notches or recesses 94 in its periphery, is mounted aroundshaft 82 but is fixed with respect to the frame 10. A plunger 95 ismounted in an aperture through arm 92 having a first position in whichit extends through a selected one of recesses 94 in disc 93 and a secondretracted position where it is clear of disc 93. A spring 96 engagingarm 92 and a collar 97 on plunger 95 biases the A pair of brackets 8-9and 81 are plunger towards its first position, i.e., into engagementwith disc 93. A knob 98 on plunger is provided for manual retraction ofthe plunger, i.e., for manual movement of the plunger to its secondposition. Thus, an operator, after one cut is finished, may retractplunger 95 and move handle 33 until the plunger 95 can be permitted tomove into the next selected recess 94, thereby moving saw blades 27 and27a by a predetermined amount.

it will be seen that the blades 27 and 27:: will cut slabs or cants fromopposite sides of a log fed longitudinally and centrally therebetween,and that the saw blades can be moved closer towards one another indiscrete steps be tween successive cuts. It will also be seen that it isdesirable to have a carriage that will carry a log back and forth insubstantial longitudinal alignment with a median vertical plane betweenthe blades. The log carriage described briefly heretofore will now bedescribed in de ail.

Referring to FIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9, there is shown an overhead tracl 35comprising longitudinally extending parallel rails Hill? and ltlil.Rails lltl-tl and it are each roughly U shaped with open sides facing,and the rail ltitl includes an inverted V member 99 extendinglongitudinally along the lower arm on the inside. A pair of axles and193 having formed wheels 1% and M35 respectively on one end of each formating engagement with member 99 in rail 1%, and having fiat wheels 1%and 1&7 respectively on the other end of each for engagement with raililfsl, are rotatably secured to a rectangular log carriage 3d. The logcarriage 34 is thus suspended from rails Edit and ldl for longitudinalmovement therealong and is restrained from lateral movement by themember 5? and wheels 16d and 105. To prevent vertical movement of logcarriage 34, four wheels 1%, E9, 1143 and ill are rotatably mounted tocarriage 34. Wheel 1hr; is adjacent wheel 164- and spaced inwardlytherefrom, wheel N9 is adjacent wheel ill? and spaced inwardlytherefrom, and wheels 1&8 and 1&9 run on the inner surface of the upperarm of rail res thereby preventing wheels ltld and 1&5 from lifting otfmember )9. The wheels lid and 111 are likewise adjacent wheels 1% and N7respectively, and ride on the inner surface of the upper arm of railllll to prevent the wheels 12% and 137 and carriage 34 from movingvertically. The view in FIGURES 9 and 8 are used particularly to showthe engagement of the wheels with rails ltltl and 191 and some of theother detail has been omitted from these figures.

Two shafts 112 and H3 are rotatably mounted in a transverse direction atopposite ends of log carriage 3d and carry dogs 23 and 44 respectively.The dogs 43 and id are themselves aligned longitudinally and are ofrelatively thin cross-section to occupy little room when passing betweenthe saw blades. The dogs are aligned with a medial vertical planepassing midway between the saws. Arms lid and H5 are fastened to shafts112 and 113 respectively, and the ends of arms 114- and 115 arepivotally connected to rods 116 and 117 of hydraulic cylinders lit and12% respectively. The ends of cylinders 118 and i229 opposite the rods116 and H7 are pivotally connected to cross members of carriage 34.Hydraulic lines 121 and 122 on cylinder 118 and hydraulic lines 123 and124 on cylinder 122i carry hydraulic fluid to the respective cylindersto extend or retract rods 116 and 117 to lower and raise dogs 4-3 and44. These dogs are provided with log engaging teeth 125 facing towardsone another as seen in FIGURE 6. As was previously described, the dogs43 and may be moved to a log engaging or extended position as shown inFEGURE 6 where they engage a log 45 and where continued application ofhydraulic fluid to th ir controlling cylinders biases the dogs towardsone another to grip the log firmly. The dogs also may be moved to aretracted position to release the remaining slab of wood after cuttingis finished and to permit the carriage to be returned to a positionabove the next log small end of the log may not contact the log at all.

to be sawed. As was. described previously the chain 36 is fastened tocarriage 34 in order to provide means for longitudinal carriagemovement. The fastening between chain and carriage comprises rods 126and 127 fastened to ends of the chain and having threadedends whichengage nuts shown at 128 and 136 respectively to secure the rods tocarriage 34. This permits the position of the carriage 34 to be adjustedlongitudinally and also permits chain tension to be adjusted.

Referring now to FIGURES 10, 11 and 12, there is shown a log centeringapparatusfor substantially aligning a log longitudinally with the medialvertical plane located centrally between'the saw blades. It will berecalled from the description in connection with FIGURE 1 that a pair oflog kicker arms were located at each end of a log receiving platform andthat one of each pair of a pairof parallel shafts and that the other ofeach pair 7 of log kicker arms were mounted on opposite ends of theother of the pair of parallel shafts. These two shafts werethen drivensimultaneously from a single hydraulic cylinder to sweep the two pairsof kicker arms together. This arrangement of FIGURE 1 operatessatisfactorily when the log being positioned is of substantially uniformthickness at both ends. However, if the log is much thicker at one end,the log kicker arms would engage the log at that end and stop rotationof the shafts on which they are mounted. Consequently the log kickers atthe One solution, of course, would be to incorporate a lost motionarrangement in the apparatus. Another solution is to provide separatedrives for the log kickers-at each end as shown in FIGURES l0, l1 and12.

As in FIGURE 1, a log receiving platform 55 is supported by uprightmembers 56. A pair of log kickers are at each end and are similar. It isbelieved that a' description of one pair of log kickers will provide anunderstanding of the construction. A log kicker arm 62 is secured to ashaft 132 for rotation therewith,'and a log kicker arm 62a is secured toshaft 133 for rotation therewith. The shafts 132 and 133 are rotatablysupported in bearings 134 and 135 respectively from cross member 136. Itmay be desirable, depending on the load in a particular apparatus, touse a pair of spaced bearings rather than a single bearing to supportshafts 132 and 133. A pair of meshing gears 137 and 138 are secured toshafts driven from an electric motor 155 as shown in FIG- pan 1.

In the operation of a transportable sawmill in ac cordance with theinvention, the sawmill is moved to a desired location and the engine 21is started to provide hydraulic fluid under pressure to cylinders 17. .The feet 13 are then extended using this hydraulic fluid until the frameit? is level and the clamps 2h operated to clamp the feet'in position. Alive deck is lowered from its position against the side of the sawmilland a load of logs is placed on the live deck including chain 152 (FIG-URE 11) by means of a hydraulic loader or the like, and motor 155 isenergized to move a log onto the log receiving platform 55. ,Hydraulicfluid is then applied to cylinders 1 i2'and145 to operate the logkickers and center log 44 with a medial vertical plane between the saws.Hydraulic fluid is applied to motor 42 to position log carriage 34 andthen to. cylinders 118 and to move dogs 43 and 44 to their extendedposition and grip the centered log, 45. The main saw drive can;

then be engaged and handle 33 moved to' position the saw blades. Thenhydraulic fluid is again. applied to motor 4-2 to move log carriage 34past the saws to take two simultaneous cuts off the log. The logcarriage 34 is returned and handle 33 operated to position the bladesfor the next pass. 7

After the final pass another log is centered while dogs 43 and 44 areraised to drop the last'remainingslab on spiral rolls 4%. The next logis positioned before the carriage 3% is returned and the dogs 43 and 44lowered to grip it.

. It will be seen that various'alternative driving means 7 could beprovided for the apparatus of the present inven- 132 and 133 to causecontra rotation of the shafts. Shaft 132 had a drive arm 149 projectingfrom it and secured to it. A rod 141 connected with the piston in ahydraulic cylinder 142 has its projecting end pivotally connected to theend of arm 14%. The end of cylinder 142 remote from rod 141 is pivotallyconnected to frame 16. Hydraulic lines 143 and 144 are provided toconduct hydraulic fluid to cylinder 142 to extend and retract rod 14%and thereby to cause the log kicker arms 62 and 62a to sweep from aretracted position (shown in phantom in FIGURE 11) to a log centeringposition (shown in solid lines in FIGURE 11). The log kicker arms at theopposite end of platform 55 operate in a like manner driven by thehydraulic cylinder 145.

FIGURE 12 shows a cross section of a hearing assembly supporting shaft133. Other forms of hearing could, of course, be used. In the FIGURE 12bearing assembly, log kicker arm 62a is keyed to shaft 133 by means of akey 146 and secured against axial movement by a set screw 147. A bushing148 is positioned in an aperture in flange member 150 supported fromcross member 136. A hearing extension 151 is fastened to the rear ofmember 150 to provide additional support.

Referring once more to FIGURE 11, there is indicated in phantom a livedeck for supplying logs to the log receiving platform. The live deck maycomprise a driven chain 152 as indicated, supported at one end bysprocket 153 on shaft 154. Shaft 154 may be chain tion. For example, thereversible motor driving the log carriage might be replaced by acylinder type drive, or electrical drive means might be used for the logcarriage and also for other apparatus.

The transportable sawmill of the present invention as described hereinis believed to be easily moved, quickly set up, and eflicientlyoperated. Many of the features would provide advantages not only in atransportable sawmill but also in conventional permanent sawmills. V

I claim:

, 1. In a sawmill having a sawing areawith a medial vertical planeextending from an input end to an output end thereof, a log centeringapparatus comprising 7 a log receiving platform adjacent the input endof said sawing area, and

a first and a second pair of log kicker arms mounted below said platformand spaced longitudinally from one another in the direction of saidplane, the arms in said first pair and the arms in said second pairbeing equidistant from said plane, each arm hav-. ing a log engagingportion on one side thereof, each said pair of arms having a firstretracted position lying below the surface ofsaid platform, a second logcentering position projecting upwards past the surface of said platformon either side of said plane forming a trough defined on either side bythe log engaging portionsof the arms and on the bottom by a part of thelog receiving platform and a log carrying sweep from said first positionto the second trough forming position.

2. In a sawmill having a sawingarea with a medial vertical planeextending from an input end to an output end thereof, a log centeringapparatus comprising a log receiving platform adjacent the input end ofsaid sawing area,

a first and a second shaft rotatably mounted to said platform below thesurface thereof parallel to said surface and to said medial plane andadjacent said input end, said first and second shafts being on first andsecond sides'of said medial plane and equidistant therefrom,

a gear fastened to each of said first and second shafts in meshingengagement with one another for providing for rotation of said first andsecond shafts in op- .posite directions,

first and second log kicker arms each having a log engaging portionmounted respectively to said first and second shafts for movementtherewith, like portions of said first and second arms being equidistantfrom said medial plane, said first and second arms having a firstretracted position lying below the surface of said platform onrespective sides of said plane, a second log centering positionprojecting upwards past the surface of said platform on the samerespective sides of said plane forming a trough defined on either sideby the log engaging portions of the first and second arms and on thebottom by by a part of the log receiving platform, and a log carryingsweep upwardly and towards one another from said first to said secondposition,

third and a fourth shaft axially aligned with said first and secondshafts respectively and spaced therefrom in a direction away from saidinput end, said third and fourth shafts being rotatably mounted to saidplatform,

a gear fastened to each of said third and fourth shafts in meshingengagement with one another for providing for rotation of said third andfourth shafts in opposite directions,

third and fourth log kicker arms each having a log engaging portionmounted respectively to said third and fourth shafts for movementtherewith, like portions of said third and fourth arms being equidistantfrom said medial plane, said third and fourth arms having a firstretracted position lying below the surface of said platform on therespective first and second sides of said plane, a second log centeringposition projecting upwards past the surface of said platform on thesame respective sides of said plane forming a trough defined on eitherside by the log engaging portions of the third and fourth arms and onthe bottom by a part of the log receiving platform, and a log carryingsweep upwardly and towards one another from said first to said secondposition, and

drive means independently engaging said first and third shafts formoving said first and second and said third and fourth arms from saidfirst to said second position.

In a sawmill having a sawing area with a medial vertical plane extendingfrom an input end to an output end thereof, a log centering apparatuscomprising log receiving platform adjacent the input end of said sawingarea,

first and a second shaft rotatably mounted to said platform below thesurface thereof parallel to said surface and to said medial plane, saidfirst and second shafts being on opposite sides of said planeequidistant therefrom and extending from a point adjacent said input endin a direction away from said input end,

a gear fastened to each of said first and second shafts in meshingengagement with one another for providing for rotation of said first andsecond shafts in opposite directions,

first and second log kicker arms each having a log engaging portionmounted respectively to adjacent ends of said first and second shaftsfor movement therewith, like portions of said first and second armsbeing equidistant from said medial plane, and

third and fourth log kicker arms each having a log said first and secondand said third and fourth log kicker arms having a first retractedposition lying below the surface of the platform, a second log centeringposition projecting upwardly past the surface of said platform on thesame side of said plane as the shaft to which the arm is mounted forminga longitudinal trough extending in the direction of said plane definedon one side by the log engaging portions of said first and third arms onthe other side by the log engaging portions of said second and fourtharms and on the bottom by a part of said log receiving platform, and alog carrying sweep upwardly and towards the adjacent arm from said firstposition to said second position, and

drive means engaging said first shaft for moving said first and secondand said third and fourth arms from said first to said second position.

. A sawmill comprising first and second separate mandrel supportsmounted to said second track for movement therealong,

first and second saw mandrels positioned to have a substantially commonaxis extending substantially in said second direction and mountedrespectively on said first and second mandrel supports for securing sawblades on adjacent ends thereof,

means for driving each said saw mandrel, positioning means mounted tosaid frame engaging each said mandrel support and positioning said supports towards and away from each other along said second trackmaintaining said saw mandrels equidistant from said vertical plane,

log receiving platform adjacent one side of said sawing area, and

first and a second pair of log kicker arms mounted below said platformand spaced longitudinally from one another in the direction of saidplane, the arms in said first pair and the arms in said second pairbeing on opposite sides of and equidistant from said plane, each armhaving a log engaging portion on one side thereof, each said pair ofarms having a first retracted position lying below the surface of saidplatform, a second log centering position projecting upwards past thesurface of said platform on either side of said plane forming a troughdefined on either side by the log engaging portions of the arms and onthe bottom by a part of the log receiving platform, and a log carryingsweep from the first position to the second position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/90 Hodgson.9/09 Thomas.

7/44 Bukowsky. 9/53 1/54 3/54 3/54 4/56 8/57 Bethea.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner. 7 DONALD R. SCHRAN, Examiner.

Stagg 143-117 X

1. IN A SAWMILL HAVING A SAWING AREA WITH A MEDIAL VERTICAL PLANEEXTENDING FROM AN INPUT END TO AN OUTPUT END THEREOF, A LOG CENTERINGAPPARATUS COMPRISING A LOG RECEIVING PLATFORM ADJACENT THE INPUT END OFSAID SAWING AREA, AND A FIRST AND A SECOND PAIR OF LOG KICKER ARMSMOUNTED BELOW SAID PLATFORM AND SPACED LONGITUDINALLY FROM ONE ANOTHERIN THE DIRECTION OF SAID PLANE, THE ARMS IN SAID FIRST PAIR AND THE ARMSIN SAID SECOND PAIR BEING EQUIDISTANT FROM SAID PLANE, EACH ARM HAVING ALOG ENGAGING PORTION ON ONE SIDE THEREOF, EACH SAID PAIR OF ARMS HAVINGA FIRST RETRACTED POSITION LYING BELOW THE SURFACE OF SAID PLATFORM, ASECOND LOG CENTERING POSITION PROJECTING UPWARDS PAST THE SURFACE OFSAID PLATFORM ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID PLANE FORMING A TROUGH DEFINED ONEITHER SIDE BY THE LOG ENGAGING PORTIONS OF THE ARMS AND ON THE BOTTOMBY A PART OF THE LOG RECEIVING PLATFORM AND A LOG CARRYING SWEEP FROMSAID FIRST POSITION TO THE SECOND TROUGH FORMING POSITION.